The Role of the Third Sector in the Slovenian Welfare System in Three Decades of Post-socialist Experience

Abstract The paper analyses the characteristics of the third sector in Slovenia and its role in the Slovenian welfare system following the country’s independence in 1991. Focus is given to the service role of the third sector organizations while it is argued that the growth and rapid increase in the number of third sector organizations in the period under study did not concurrently lead to the third sector’s development in terms of strengthening its professionalization and financial power and, in turn, its role in the country’s welfare system.